Know Thy Machine

I am so exited to be part of the Know thy Machine blog hop for Shruit at 13woodhouseroad.com, I have been a follower of her blog for a while and enjoy following her quilting journey and also getting an insight into a little about her life in India. When she announced on the Modern Quilt Facebook page that she was looking for participants for this hop I was only too happy to volunteer. I have enjoyed reading all the other post and learning all about other machines.

1. What machine(s) do you have? Brand and Model.

I had to laugh when I read this question as I have a number of sewing machines and had to decide which one to talk about in this post. I currently have three sewing machines and I just love each one for different reasons.

I have a Baby Lock Ellisimo

My baby!

I also have a Baby Lock Espire

My other baby!

And I have a Handi Quilter Asante

My big one!

So for this blog hop I decided to focus on my Elissimo as this is the one I use more often, nearly every day

2. When and where did you buy it? What were the reasons for selecting this(these) particular model(s). What was its approximate cost.

I bought my Ellisimo last year at the Pacific International Quilt Festival which is a quilt show in Santa Clara,CA every October. I really was not in the market for a new machine but I sat with a Baby Lock employee who showed me all the bells and whistles it has and I was in love with the machine – she did a great job of selling it to me. I also got a great trade-in price for the embroidery machine that I had – another Baby Lock but the Esante Model.

One of the reasons I decided on the machine was the fact that all my sewing machines ( except my Long Arm) have been Baby Locks and I really like how user friendly they are and I have never had any issues or problems with them, they have never let me down! Also my local dealer, includes lots of classes to learn how to use the machine and also a Sewing club or Embroidery club monthly to get to know your machine with interesting projects.

Some of the other selling points were on the embroidery side of the machine as follows:

NeedleCam Camera for perfect embroidery positioning

ability to edit and re-size embroidery designs on the machine

Ability to use drag and drop for better design placement

love the fact that it has a cut jump stitch function for embroidery – no more snipping of thread

I have used these features to create some great projects recently such as:

Christmas Gifts

I have made 5 of these over the last few weeks to give as Christmas gifts.

And a view of the other designs for this quilt on my design wall, these make me smile everything I walk into my sewing room.

More designs on my design wall

3. What do you like about your machine? Have you named it? Have you made a cover for it?

I love everything about my machine, love the beautiful stitches, the lighting is just wonderful, the speed of embroidery module is wonderful and all the reasons I mentioned in the above answer.

No my machine has no name but I do talk to it! I have not made a cover for it as it would never be left on it for very long as it is always ready for me to use it.

4. Does your machine give you any problems? Could you tell us a few?

To date I have had no problems with the machine.

5. What do you sew on it mainly? Quilts, Clothes, Bags etc. How much time do you spend sewing on it? What are the features of the machine that help you improve your work?

I am a quilter so most of the work I do is quilting related, piecing or embroidering quilt blocks. As you can see from above, I also make gifts and this year I have had great fun making Christmas trees for gifts.

I have made table runners, wall hangings and bags but I am happiest when I am making quilts. I sew lots of love into each one with each stitch as I think of the person who will own it once I am done.

I have 3 nieces and a nephew who live in Ireland and they each have a number of quilts and when they wrap up in them I tell them that it is like me giving them really big hugs from afar.

a collection of my quilts

I try and spend part of each day being creative, during the week it is usually at night and the weekends I am either piecing a quilt, quilting a quilt or digitizing quilting designs on my computer. My Ellisimo enables me to be more precise with my piecing and I love the ability to embroider bigger designs even split designs and position them perfectly with the camera.

6. What advice would you give others when deciding about which machine to buy?

Try lots of different machines. Shop at a dealer who sells more than on brand also a dealer who offers classes on how to use the machine and who also services the machine in house. Even with a machine that doesn’t give you any problems to keep it working well, you should have it serviced yearly. My machine was booked in for its first yearly service today as I have it over a year and I want to ensure I have it for years to come.

7. Will you share with us a special memory associated with your machine?

Not that I can think of with the machine itself but the stuff I make has created lots of memories especially when I give them as gifts and they are appreciated, used and loved! What more can I ask for?

8. If you had unlimited resources in the world, which machine would you choose to buy and why?

I am very happy with all my machines but if I had unlimited resources I would have a room where I could play with them all in one place. I now have a sewing room upstairs and my longarm is downstairs in the studio aka the garage. I would love one big studio space with lots of natural light and I would be a happy camper!

Thanks for stopping by and please consider following my blog and join me on my quilting journey. Now head back over to Shruit at 13woodhouseroad.com and answer my question and maybe you will be the lucky winner of a prize.

Leona

2 Comments

LJ
November 28, 2012

I loved your Christmas tree design. Can you tell me where to purchase it?